moon gazing

It's midnight and time to go outside again and look at the moon. The full moon in July is called the Full Thunder Moon - because of the frequency of thunderstorms in July. The moon names come from the Native American cultures - especially tribes in the northeast United States. July's full moon is also called the Buck Moon because July is when the new antlers of buck deer push out. Some call it the Full Hay Moon.

Did you notice how extra bright the moon was? I had to shade my eyes and only look for a few moments at a time. These photos were taken by Scott on Monday night - I think it was brightest that night. The moon is actually waning tonight - four nights later.

I love that word waning. When referring to the moon, I have to pause and think about the meanings of waxing and waning.

Scott went to medical school in New York City. He remembers that the the emergency rooms there were much busier on the nights when there was a full moon. From Live Science website: "The moon holds a mystical place in the history of human culture, so it's no wonder that many myths — from werewolves to induced lunacy to epileptic seizures to increased births — have built up regarding its supposed effects on us.

"It must be a full moon," is a phrase heard whenever crazy things happen and is said by researchers to be muttered commonly by late-night cops, psychiatry staff and emergency room personnel. (Statistical studies have debunked the myth.)

. . . . .

"Tell me what you feel

when the full moon is shining upon you

and your lamp is dying out,

and I will tell you how old you are,

and I shall know if you are happy."

Henri Frederic Amiel

tHe sKy in JuLy

Scott took some gorgeous photos of last night's sunset - it was breathtaking!

late-night scrapping

Becky, Suzie, and I did a little late-night scrapping last week - actually some scrapbook layouts for my work...this time for Adornit's Busy Women Kit Club. The theme for this month was "Let's Eat!" We were creating sample layouts that show ways to use the stuff in the kits. It was fun for me to hang with my daughters in our jammies/grubs and play with the photos from our Bear Lake trip just days before.

Suzie is good at everything she does, including scrapping. She puts a darling twist to the things she makes - she's very creative and a bit of a perfectionist - she admits it.

Becky is also a cute scrapper - she's actually made a couple of layouts for Adornit's "10 in 2010" Scrapbook Challenge. Here she's working on a picnic-themed layout.

I was getting very tired as I went through my usual "scrapbooking struggle - layout angst." My pages are always very symmetrical, square, straight, even, careful, and maybe a bit boring. The thing that I'm best at is journaling - I consider myself a writer first and a scrapper, well, about sixth. I unfortunately don't write much on my pages, because it's usually the middle of the night when I'm starting my scrap projects and I'm too tired to write. I have promised myself that someday I'll go back and make the "second half" of all of my layouts with very detailed journaling added. I think I'm getting a little behind lol.

Here's a picture of Adornit's July Busy Women Kit - with the stitched placemat project made by Janet Parker. Fun stuff.

summer = family reunions

Last Friday at this time, we were at Bear Lake with my family for our annual family get together. Before the memories fade, I want to post some highlights.

My sister Merilee (my only sister) is the best. She's good at everything, but especially "group fun." She's an idea machine and if you ever need to throw a party, she's the one to have on the committee. In the photo above she is running one of several games she planned that were based on the TV show "Minute to Win It." Mike is competing in the marshmallow-on-a-plate-that-you-tip-off-with-a-broom-and-catch-in-a-cup game. It was fun to watch and surprisingly it worked!

Mer also loves the old traditional contests like the CHUG-A-LUG. She bought really fizzy strawberry soda and as they chugged it, it just fizzed out of the mouths of Gary, David, Pitt, Brett, and Derek. Gary won - yes his bottle was empty first, but most of it was down the front of his shirt. You have to be bold on this game; no hesitation!

My parents love every minute of this weekend!

Suzie and Winston were here from Las Vegas - which we loved. When we have a family party and someone isn't there, we feel an empty spot. It just isn't quite the same. We missed Kurt, Katie and Christopher; Devin, Autumn, Jayden, and Triston; Kelby, Michelle and Kloie; and Alex.

Waiting for the dinner bell to ring!

We had perfect weather - it was even warm in the evening which is rare for Bear Lake. There was more than enough food and smiles too! Above are Arika, Derek, Emmett, Pitt, Zach, Sara, Nikki and cute little Avrie.

On the grass - these guys are playing some kind of volleyball, I think. THey also launched rockets, played volleyball, and attracted mosquitos lol.

Bear Lake with the WHOLE Family!

SteVenSon fAmiLy ReUnion pHotos

Two days, three locations, three meals (including Grandma Stevenson's pancakes), four brothers and sisters (Evan - my dad, Uncle Jerry, Uncle Brent and Aunt Joanne), eleven cousins, lots of grandkids and great grandkids, games like the egg toss and gunny sack races, photos and histories, talent show, swimming. Great memories!

it's all in the presentation

Etsy * is a fascinating place on the internet that I try to avoid because I can lose track of hours and hours of time and sometimes sleep just wandering (virtually) from shop to shop to shop. To me, it's wayyyy more appealing than YouTube or Ebay. On Etsy, there are little virtual shops with quilts, jewelry, art, cards, well, you name it. And it's all hand crafted, hand assembled, or vintage.

I ran across this Etsy shop through a Twitter post from Georgana. Notice the Etsy shop's cute graphics and the charming presentation of her items (and sweet name - Paper Cakes). The owner has an equally delightful blog called Paper Cakes Finds.

EDIT - this is funny - the shop owner closed her shop, literally, while I was typing this post. I'm serious - when I made the link the shop was up, when I tested the link, it was closed. Oh well, check out her blog and look at the photo below.

Back to my point...the ribbon and lace she is selling is pretty, but what impressed me is the pink tag that the product is wrapped on, the pink hat pin tucked into the rick rack, the little heart embellishment, and the old-fashioned doily in the photo. You can tell she "takes care" - and I like that.

Description of item: Handmade gift tag with ribbon and trim. Each measures 1 yard or less. Embroidery floss, white satin ribbon, pink ric rac, striped grosgrain ribbon, and vintage grey/white lace.


* From Wikipedia: Etsy is a social commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items as well as art and craft supplies. These items cover a wide range including art, photography, clothing, jewelry, edibles, bath & beauty products, quilts, knick-knacks and toys. Many individuals also sell craft supplies like beads, wire, jewelry making tools and much more. The vintage items on the site have only one rule to follow: they must be 20 years or older. These items range from old boots and ice skates, to dresses, hats and scarves. The site follows in the tradition of open craft fairs giving sellers personal storefronts where they list their goods for a fee of $.20. It has been compared to "a crafty cross between Amazon and ebay"and to "your grandma's basement."

My July Scrapbook Challenge on the Adornit Blog

Here it is, July 10, and time for another SCRAPBOOK CHALLENGE! I’m Debbie Raymond, Adornit editor and ‘challenge promoter.’ Guess what! We’re halfway through our “10 in 2010” Scrapbook Challenge. Hard to believe, huh. If you’ve followed along with our challenges so far, you should have five completed layouts - a great accomplishment! If you start TODAY, and participate in the rest of the challenges, you’ll end the year with five completed layouts – you’ll be glad you did! (We’re ending in November.) Don't forget that each month I create a custom, inexpensive CHALLENGE KIT that you can order to get your scrapping finished even faster! You can read about it at the end of this post.

I want to begin this challenge with a favorite quote by Henry David Thoreau:

“Heaven is under our feet, as well as over our heads.”

I love this quote! If you read it carefully you’ll realize that it can apply to anyone in any stage of life. Heaven can be the sand on a beach, the grass in a park, or little children in our scrapbooking rooms.To me, July is a month of favorites, so your scrapbook challenge is to celebrate your favorite things or activities. The title of the challenge is “Summer Favorites.”

The challenge requirements are:

buttons

strips of paper used as ribbon

handwritten journaling




Here's my first layout with the challenge requirements. Just remember that to be entered into the monthly prize drawing, you WILL have to use the three required elements. And you’ll have to post your layout somewhere so we can see it! If you come back to this post and link to the Mr. Linky gadget at the bottom, we’ll be able to find your layout. OR, you can post your layout on our Facebook fan page (instructions at the end of this post).



And here's my second layout (above). Notice the challenge requirements: buttons, strips of paper used as ribbon, and handwritten journaling (a real challenge for me because I hate my handwriting). That's it -create a layout with those three elements, take a quick photo, post somewhere - then let me know where. Easy!


BONUS LAYOUT AND ONE MORE CHALLENGE!
Finally, I just had to share this layout, made by my little granddaughter, six-year-old Bailee. She and her sister Brookelyn were at my house over the 4th, and we scrapped together. They loved it! If you have kids, I challenge you to let them join you in an afternoon of scrapping. Yes, it's kind of stressful, but the results are precious.

CHALLENGE KIT

Above is the July Challenge Kit that you can order right now for only $10.90 plus shipping. The color page sketch above will be included so you can create a quick layout without even thinking!

Post on Facebook!

Here’s how to post your layouts to Adornit’s Facebook fan page. 1. Save your photo to your computer. 2. Sign in to Facebook. 3. Go to the Adornit page by typing Adornit in the search box at the top of your Facebook page. 4. If you’re not already a fan, click on Become a Fan. Then go back to the Adornit page. 5. On the Adornit Facebook Wall, click on the box that says, “Write Something” or “What’s On Your Mind?” 6. Beneath that box you will see the word Attach followed by some little icons. 7. Click on the PHOTO icon. 8. Click on Upload a Photo. 9. Browse and pick up your photo. Click on Share. 10. In a few minutes, your photo will appear in Adornit Fan Photos and on the Adornit feed. 11. Everyone here at Adornit and all our fans will be thrilled to see your layouts!